


in your arms

by falloutgirl



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Body Worship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:28:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutgirl/pseuds/falloutgirl
Summary: Jongin is stressed about the release of his solo album. Chanyeol is there to help soothe his aches.--originally written for @pensoutforkai's Kai support fanzine on twitter ~
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 15
Kudos: 80





	in your arms

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the kai-centric transformative authors fan project by Pens Out for Kai on twitter in support of Jongin's solo debut. Since the fanzine is available on other platforms I figured I would finally post my submission to ao3!
> 
> I hope you all have enjoyed Jongin's solo album thus far xoxo 
> 
> Any mistakes herein are my own, I don't own anything, etc. etc, this is all just for fun.
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy ~

Jongin spins across the dance room once more before ending with both feet shoulder width apart, his chest heaving as he tries to catch his breath. The final note of his title track fades out as the song finishes, leaving Jongin the silence that follows, only the harsh sound of his own ragged breathing filling up the space. 

He hears a light rapt against the far wall, near the door. Jongin looks up in the mirror, to meet the eyes of none other than Chanyeol. He’s currently leaning against the wall, muscled arms crossed over his broad chest. 

“How long have you been standing there, hyung?” Jongin asks, bending down and grabbing his water bottle to take a sip. Chanyeol’s eyes never leave his in the mirror.

“Long enough to know that you should’ve gone to bed, like, two hours ago.” Chanyeol looks down at his watch. “It’s almost two in the morning, Nini.”

Jongin’s face burns. “I was just—”

“Practicing, baby, I know.” Chanyeol pushes off the wall and walks towards Jongin, pulling him into his arms. Jongin feels the exhaustion of the hours of dancing catching up to his body, as he all but falls forward in Chanyeol’s strong grip.

“I h-have to be perfect,” Jongin says quietly, mouth pressed against Chanyeol’s white t-shirt. His own shirt is soaked in his sweat, but Chanyeol seems to pay that no mind. 

“You already are,” Chanyeol notes softly, voice turning up at the edges. He runs his hand through Jongin’s hair, crading the back of his head. He scratches his fingers lightly against Jongin’s scalp. “I bet you didn’t even eat yet, did you?”

Jongin buries his face deeper against Chanyeol’s chest, expecting to be scolded, but all that comes out is a tiny exasperated laugh. “Come on,” Chanyeol says softly, “take a warm bath and I’ll cook something for you.”

Jongin merely nods against Chanyeol’s chest. He quickly grabs his phone and his bag off the floor before taking one last look around the practice room before shutting the lights off.

The walk back to the dorms is silent. Jongin finds himself leaning a lot of his weight on Chanyeol’s body to keep himself upright, the soreness of his muscles starting to settle into him. All the months of practice are catching up to him, all the late nights, early mornings, hours and hours in the studio—both dancing and recording—all of it leading up to this. His solo. His  _ debut _ .

Suddenly, Jongin’s throat feels tight, his breathing coming out in short, harsh pants.

“-ongin? Jongin? Jongin!” Chanyeol’s voice raises up an octave and Jongin shakes himself out of his thoughts. He looks around, realizing he and Chanyeol are already in the dorms, and only the one small lamp by the couch is on.

“What…” Jongin says, breathless.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asks. Jongin nods immediately, even though he isn’t. His mind is racing now, with thoughts of his solo, thoughts of his album, the dance, the songs, the title track—he wonders if it’s enough. 

He wonders if the fans will like it.

“They’ll love you,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin looks up at Chanyeol’s face, realizing he must’ve said that last part out loud. “The fans will love the album, because they love  _ you _ ,” he repeats again. 

“Hyung,” Jongin’s voice comes out small and tiny. Glass on the precipice of shattering. 

“I’ve got you,” Chanyeol says, pulling Jongin into his arms, close to his body. “You worry so much,” he says, rubbing his hands up and down Jongin’s back, a grounding touch. “But you’re perfect. You really are.”

Jongin stays silent. Mind moving a million miles. He grips his hands around Chanyeol too, holding him back just as much, breathing in Chanyeol’s fresh linen scent. 

“Come on,” Chanyeol notes, “You need to shower, and you’ll feel better afterwards.”

“Are you saying I stink?” Jongin says, a short laugh escaping his lips.

Chanyeol snorts. “I think you smell good after dancing,” he says, smirking. “Reminds me of something else you smell good after doing.”

“You’re gross,” Jongin says, trying his best to hide his laugh. Chanyeol’s little joke does enough to clear his head, allowing him to walk the short distance in their dorm to the shower. He leaves the bathroom door open, stripping off all of his clothes before throwing himself under the warm spray of the shower. Jongin closes his eyes and lets the water run over him, letting it seep into his skin and down to the bone.

“I’ll leave your clothes here on the sink,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin almost startles at his voice, lost in his own world. 

“Could you… could you join me?” Jongin asks softly, the water around himself even louder than his own voice. It’s not like they’ve never showered together before—it’s not like they’ve not been intimate with each other before either, too. But after the exhaustion of today, Jongin feels unusually vulnerable, even to someone like Chanyeol. 

“Hmm?” Chanyeol asks, pulling back the curtain. He has a concerned look on his face.

“Wash my hair please,” Jongin asks, voice soft. He looks up to meet Chanyeol’s eyes, who gives him a soft smile. 

“Aw, my baby,” Chanyeol says, and Jongin feels the heat rush up to his cheeks. He watches as Chanyeol slowly divests himself of his own clothes and gets into the shower with him as well.

“Tired?” Chanyeol asks, grabbing the shampoo bottle while Jongin leans against the cool bathroom tiles. 

“Sore,” Jongin says softly. It’s true. His body feels like it’s being crushed by a ten ton brick. He just wants to sleep for a whole week, and rest all his sore muscles.  _ But I can’t, _ Jongin thinks to himself,  _ I still have so much left to prepare _ .

“I can hear your thoughts all the way out here,” Chanyeol says, taking the shower head and rinsing all the shampoo out of Jongin’s hair. Jongin hums in acknowledgement of Chanyeol’s words, but doesn’t say anything. He lets Chanyeol finish rinsing the soap down the drain, let’s Chanyeol wash and scrub his body down with his favorite strawberry scented body wash as he just leans against the tiles, thoughts a mess.

It’s not long before Chanyeol shuts the water off, having also taken the time to quickly shower himself as well. He guides Jongin out of the shower and dries him, wrapping him up in a fluffy towel before pulling Jongin towards his bedroom. Jongin goes willingly, eyes blinking slowly. He stifles a yawn behind his hand, and sits on the bed.

Chanyeol moves around him, his own towel secured around his waist, and Jongin takes the time to take in Chanyeol’s sculpted body as he starts to hand Jongin clothes to put on. 

Jongin puts his underwear on wordlessly, but makes no move to put on his shirt or his pants.

“Do I need to dress you, you big baby?” Chanyeol jokes. He offers Jongin a warm smile.

“No,” Jongin whines. “But…” 

“Hmm?”

Jongin twists a bit to the side and Chanyeol must see the grimace that crosses over his face, because the smile suddenly drops from his face as his eyes fill with concern.

“Jongin…” Chanyeol says, and reaches out a tentative hand to cup Jongin’s cheek. Jongin leans into the touch, letting the warmth from Chanyeol’s hand ground him. 

“Want me to massage your back?”

“Please,” Jongin says. Chanyeol pats his cheek in reply. 

“Go lay on your stomach, just let me put on some clothes first.”

Jongin nods in acknowledgement as he eases himself on the bed, laying on his stomach. He presses his head against one of Chanyeol’s pillows, comfortably inhaling the citrusy smell of Chanyeol’s body lotion. Jongin can hear Chanyeol’s shuffling behind him, hear the fabric rustling as Chanyeol probably pulls his sweatpants on. He hears the bedroom door creak open and wonders where Chanyeol’s gone off too. A part of Jongin wants to get up and follow Chanyeol, but instead, he relaxes against the sheets, closing his eyes. 

“Here,” Chanyeol says, gently nudging Jongin awake. 

Jongin looks up at Chanyeol, who has a bottle of water in one hand and a plate of sandwiches in the other. 

“C’mon, eat first,” Chanyeol says gently, “you can’t sleep on an empty stomach like this.”

Jongin makes himself sit up, wincing slightly as he moves. He takes the proffered food from Chanyeol, hungrily digging into the tuna sandwiches. 

“Stop doing that,” Chanyeol says, from where he is seated on the bed next to Jongin. 

“Doing what?” Jongin asks around a bite of food. 

“Forgetting to take care of yourself.” Chanyeol reaches out and wipes the corner of Jongin’s mouth with a napkin. “I don’t like seeing you struggle.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jongin pushes back, finishing up the food Chanyeol gave him.

Chanyeol merely lifts his eyebrow in response, and that is enough to make Jongin relent.

“Alright,” Jongin admits, “maybe I did go a little overboard.”

“A little?” Chanyeol snorts. He takes the empty plate and places it on the nightstand while Jongin finishes through his bottle of water. He caps the empty water bottle and throws it on the floor before cuddling against Chanyeol’s body.

“You’ll pick that empty water bottle up tomorrow,” Chanyeol says, fake stern.

“Yeah, yeah,” Jongin replies, sliding his body down the bed and curling his head on Chanyeol’s lap. 

Chanyeol runs his fingers through Jongin’s hair, lightly scratching at his scalp. 

“Hyung,” Jongin whines softly, melting into Chanyeol’s touch like a kitten.

“Junmyeon hyung said you’re not allowed to practice tomorrow,” Chanyeol says, “that you need to rest all day.”

“Hyung’s enlisted,” Jongin says, eyes closing as Chanyeol continues to lazily rake his fingers through Jongin’s hair. The touch grounds Jongin, and keeps his restless mind at bay.

“And?” Chanyeol chuckles, “he’s still the leader.”

“Still nagging me,” Jongin grumbles, and Chanyeol only laughs more.

“I talked to him when I made your food,” Chanyeol continues, “and I agree with him.” 

“Nooooo,” Jongin whines. “ _ Hyuuunngggg. _ ”

“C’mon, Nini,” Chanyeol says. He gently extricates himself from under Jongin’s head. Chanyeol moves around on the bed, rolling Jongin over onto his stomach before situating himself behind him. 

“I’m too sore for whatever you have in mind,” Jongin says, turning his head to look back at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol just rolls his eyes. “That is not why I rolled you onto your stomach.”

“Some kind of boyfriend you are,” Jongin replies, but there’s no heat to it. This relationship, this dynamic with Chanyeol, while not entirely  _ new _ , the title of  _ boyfriend _ definitely is.

It still makes butterflies in Jongin’s stomach flutter when he refers to Chanyeol by that out loud, even in the confines of their dorm, even behind the four walls of either of their bedrooms.

“I’m the best boyfriend, actually,” Chanyeol grins, and Jongin hears him shuffling through the bedside drawer.

“You work so hard,” Chanyeol says softly, “you deserve to take a break.”

“But—”

“Aha!” Chanyeol says, obviously having found whatever he was looking for. It is not longer after that Jongin can smell the chamomile and lavender massaging oil as Chanyeol starts to pour a generous amount down Jongin’s back.

“Relax,” he continues, and Jongin exhales, trying to let his sore muscles melt into the sheets.

Chanyeol’s touch against him is strong but gentle, as his fingers work up and down the expanse of Jongin’s back. His touch is light against Jongin’s lower back, hips—extra careful around his waist. Jongin pillows his head on the soft sheets, letting out a sigh. 

“This feels good,” Jongin says softly, voice low.

“I’m glad,” Chanyeol says, letting out a chuckle from behind.

A lightbulb goes off in Jongin’s head. “You’re bribing me to stay inside tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol replies, “is it working?”

Jongin snorts, but soon lets out a soft moan as Chanyeol’s fingers skirt along a more tender area of his back. 

“See?” he says, “You need to rest up.”

Jongin  _ hmmphs _ against the pillow. He lets the feeling of Chanyeol’s hands on his body completely wash over him, let’s his mind wander back to the dance studio, the recording booth, the music video film set, the jacket photoshoot, and all at once, Jongin is overcome with a wave of  _ exhaustion _ once more.

“Fine,” he concedes, “I’ll stay in tomorrow.”

“Good—”

“But don’t tell Junmyeon hyung,” Jongin cuts him off, “I don’t wanna give him the satisfaction.”

Chanyeol snorts. “Of course I won’t.”

Jongin’s relaxes against Chanyeol’s touch even more as they fall into a companionable silence. Chanyeol’s hands on Jongin’s body always feel good, but something about the intimacy of him massaging Jongin’s sore muscles, without any intention of trying to make it go further, tugs at Jongin’s heartstrings. This is why he loves Chanyeol, first and foremost as a best friend, but now, as a  _ lover _ too.

Hopefully, Jongin thinks, one day he’ll be able to say it to Chanyeol out loud. 

He exhales loudly, tiredness falling over his body. Chanyeol’s hands soon leave his skin, but he feels much more relaxed now than he did when Chanyeol corralled him from the studio an hour ago. Distantly, Jongin can hear the sound of running water, and assumes Chanyeol must be washing his hands. He goes in and out of consciousness, straddling that state between wakefulness and sleep. Once again there are hands on his body, but this time accompanied by a warm towel, wiping off the excess body oil.

“Th-thank you, hyung,” Jongin says, but his voice sounds slurred even to his own ears.

“Always, Jonginnie,” Chanyeol chuckles, as he joins Jongin in bed. Chanyeol snuggles right up to him and Jongin moves his body in kind, rolling onto his side to allow Chanyeol to hold him from behind. Chanyeol presses a soft kiss to Jongin’s exposed shoulder blade. 

“I love you,” Chanyeol says softly, and Jongin wonders if Chanyeol thinks he’s sleeping, if Chanyeol’s sharing his affection as a secret because he too is not ready to voice it out loud.

So Jongin takes the leap of faith, and replies, “I love you, too.”

Chanyeol’s startled chuckle tells Jongin all he needs to know, so he pushes himself back farther into Chanyeol’s embrace.

“Sweet dreams, my love,” Chanyeol says, pulling the blanket over the both of them. He immediately slings his arm around Jongin’s midsection, fingers pressed against Jongin’s tummy.

“Mmmhmm,” Jongin hums, closing his eyes, as he falls asleep in the arms of the man of his dreams. 

Outside of the stage, there’s no place else he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! please leave a kudos/comment and tell me what you liked!
> 
> i'm just posting this since enough time has passed since the fan project, but don't worry, i'm still working on my current WIPs and hope to have them finished soon :-)


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